New Life
by Timek
Summary: The humans have exterminated themselves, and many thousands of years later, a new intelligent species lives on. Will likely not be completed.


Humans never had a sense of care for their world. They were a species bred through selfishness, with a life goal simply to become an individual being, better than all the rest. The feeling of the here and now was all that really mattered to anyone among that race. And the best way to achieve the self-satisfaction that that feeling offered was to put oneself above all others. Neither past nor future generations of the human race mattered. Only the luxury and easy living of the present did.

I guess that is why the species became extinct. The men of the far past would have been disappointed by the actions of what would have been the present, and those of the future never had the opportunity to formulate their own opinions of their fathers. It's sad, really, to be related to a species that was responsible for the extinction of thousands of other delicate species' of creatures through living only self-centered lives. I bet Earth used to be a beautiful planet, teeming with both plant and animal life co-existing together harmoniously. Now, its former beauty only exists in the few ancient volumes written as laments by the men and women who survived its destruction, and found their way to the haven we call Agarthia.

By our parents, the teachers responsible for providing us with the knowledge to survive in this unaccommodating world, my one brother and two sisters were informed that the "intelligence" of the humans was really responsible for Earth's destruction. They said that intelligence, without rationality, was dangerous.

"Rationality was one trait that humans didn't possess." my father told me one evening, as the sun began to set over the eastern seaboard. He said that the humans were the most intelligent creatures of Earth, and they survived as long as they did because of it. He went on to explain that their machines made life many times more easy. Their machines did all the work for them, while all they were required to do was sit in the operators chair and press buttons to get the job done.

We have come a long way since the existence of humans. Our species had their roots as humans, but our genetics gradually merged with that of another species. The few humans that survived to inhabit this planet were highly dependant on one another, and formed a social system called a pack. Apparently, their needs so greatly reflected those of the natural wolf, that both humans and wolves formed strong partnerships over many generations, and formed a mutual alliance, living alongside one another to benefit the other in some way to ensure survival.

When the pups of the wolves and newborns of the humans were able to tumble down the tall-grassed hills together, both parent and child unafraid of the other species, was a time when a natural barrier had been breached. The two species were as comfortable with one another as a mother and child would be. So long did our two species live together, that eventually our DNA began to mimic the others. The humans grew thick fur and muzzles, while the wolves' backs straightened, and learnt to walk on two legs. It came to a point where both our species were strikingly identical in appearance, and were able to mate with one another. This was a key point in our history; where two entirely different species' dissolved into one other, taking the best qualities of both.

Humans of old may have called us werewolves. I like to believe that we are something completely different. Each of us would sacrifice our own lives to save the lives of our family. We are the Honon.

_Tobar,_

_Elder to the MysticNights_

**Chapter 1**

"Kip!" I heard a shout calling to me several yards away to the left. "The rabbit, it's coming your way!"

I quickly snapped to attention, looking over my left shoulder half-expecting to see Jaze pushing through the underbrush and a rabbit scurrying close ahead, frightened for its life. But I saw nothing except for the stillness of the forest in mid-day. The wind picked up slightly and rustled the leaves and branches of the surrounding trees, causing a ruckus of peaceful noise. I tried to concentrate my senses on the soft patter of the rabbits leaps among the foliage. It seemed that my ears picked out every other sound except the one I was listening for. I began to worry, as several long seconds passed and still I heard nothing. I rose my nose to the skies to scent for the rabbit, only to realize that the wind was blowing at me to the right. If there was a scent, it was downwind from where I waited. There would be no smelling it.

Suddenly, there was the sound of twigs snapping behind me. I grabbed at a mound of dirt nearby my left foot, and used it to spin myself around. Lowering my body closer to the ground, I prepared to leap at the creature with fangs bared. But a familiar face pushed through the branches of a nearby bush, and I stumbled backwards, losing my balance and crashing to the ground. I winced as pain from the landing shot through my tailbone, up my spine.

"Jaze?" I wondered aloud in a daze. "But, I thought that you were..."

"You let it get away again, didn't you, Kip?" Jaze said, frowning. He stepped through the bush, breaking apart most of the branches and leaving it broken on the forest floor. He scrambled around the area, zig-zagging between trees and sniffing their bases for any scent of the rabbit. His feet were solidly planted on the ground, while his back bent in an arch so that his elbows could almost touch the soil. He brought his nose down to the soil, sniffing every spot thoroughly.

Jaze stretched his body around, and stared disappointedly into my eyes, like he had done many times before. "Gone. Again, you let the prey get away. I don't see why mom and dad force me to teach you these things, when you just can't seem to ever get it right!"

I couldn't bear to look into my brother's eyes any longer. I broke my gaze, and stared down at my clawed hands. My claws were still unsheathed from my paws in anticipation of finally being able to make a kill. Disappointed, I drew them back behind my skin. Every time my brother took me out for a hunt, it was always me screwing up, and letting the prey get away. What makes things worse, is that this time, he brought some friends along for the hunt.

"Sari, Bellito, the chase is called off!" howled Jaze into the depths of the forest, with his nose pointed high to the sky. "Kip let it get away again."

For the moment it took Sari and Bellito to get to their friend, the air remained silent between Jaze and I. Still, neither of us could even look at one another. With a deep sigh, I brought my furry knees up to my chest and wrapped them with my arms.

Faintly, I could hear a groan as one of the other two came into the immediate area. I glanced up, painfully, to realize that it was pudgy Bellito, who needed to use his arms as support for his oversized body. He crawled forward on all fours, stood directly beside Jaze and stared down at me.

"So, the pup did it again, did he? It only took me two hunts to make my first kill. This is what? His sixth hunt now, isn't it Jaze?" Bellito commented, stretching his arm forward to push at my forehead.

My neck bent backwards, and I heard a silent pop as it passed ninety degrees to my shoulders. Once again, I sighed, figuring that my brother had nodded in agreement to Bellito's question.

The sweet sound of a female voice blossomed into the dying afternoon air, and I perked my ears as Sarita began to speak her reassurance, "Come on, you two. Kip's just having a bad day today, that's all. You know you two have had days like that before. Bellito, wasn't it you that lost that squirrel last week because you tripped over a branch?"

I grinned lightly as I heard Bellito snort slightly in annoyance, like he would often do.

Sarita bent down and held me gently in her arms. I could feel her breath tingling a patch of fur upon my shoulder.

"He tried his best. Give him some credit for that, okay?" she said, lifting my head by the chin with her thumb. I saw her emerald eyes sparkle with happiness, and a smile form across her muzzle. It must have been contagious, because I felt my heart lifting higher, losing the weight of failure. I did try my best. That's all that matters, right? One day soon, I swore to myself, I would get it right. I would taste the blood of my own kill in a short time from now.

I smiled as she stepped back and stood once more, releasing me from her embrace.

"You give him too much leniency, Sari." said Jaze, shuffling forward to wrap her neck gently with his arms. He whispered softly into her ear with a mocking laugh, hoping I wouldn't hear. "If ever we have a pup, we'll have to keep him well disciplined to avoid this..._problem_."

Sarita put on a half-hearted smile, and gave Jaze a quick peck to his cheek before pulling away. Her tail hung low to the ground in a submissive manner, and hardly swayed from side to side as she stepped through the low foliage, in the direction of the packlands.

"Whatever you say, Jaze." Sarita called back over her shoulder.

Jaze growled lowly in voice, glancing between the trees where she made her leave, then dropped himself to the ground right beside me. He tried to mock my posture, but quicky gave up and let his legs fall to the ground with only a slight bend at the knees. Almost immediately, Bellito followed his friend.

With one hand cupping his forehead, Jaze sighed. "Bellito, what have I got to do to win her over? Every time I try to flirt with her, she just pulls away. All the other girls in the pack would die if I gave them the chances I give with Sarita. Who knew it would be this difficult to get the most beautiful Honon of the pack."

Neither Bellito nor I responded. All I did was glanced up and looked at my brother's face out of the corner of my eye, and snicker at his distressed expression. For being the most popular Honon in the pack, he sure wasn't the most intelligent in terms of others' feelings. I could have answered his question with the best solution, but decided it would be more interesting to see him try and fail at winning Sarita over.

Jaze yawned in boredom after several long minutes of silence,"C'mon, let's get back to the rest of the pack."

Slowly, my brother pushed himself up off of the ground, standing on two feet with his arms hanging partially in front of his chest. He took several short steps before Bellito scrambled to his feet to follow, almost falling over.

When Jaze assumed I was out of earshot, he whispered to Bellito, "This evening, we'll see how well she can resist..."

I stayed sitting on the hard ground, listening intently until the two friends disappeared out of sight behind the nearby branches and bushes. Shortly after a time of thinking up several different hilarious scenarios of how Sarita would push him aside, I crawled to my feet and slowly followed.


End file.
